Every Athlete Invited To The 2026 ADCC World Championship
Every Athlete Invited To The 2026 ADCC World Championship
See every athlete named to the ADCC 2026 World Championship (updated September 8th, 2025)
The road to Krakou, Poland has begun and the field for the 2026 ADCC World Championships is taking shape. We put together this list as a way for fans of the sport to follow who is in for the biggest grappling event of the year as it now returns to Europe for the first time in nearly a decade.
ADCC 2026 will feature five male divisions with 16 athletes each, and three female divisions with eight athletes each.
Not just anyone can qualify for ADCC. Only the best of the best are invited based off of two criterium. Half of the athletes in each division are invited based on previous performances at ADCC, ADCC-affiliated events, or an established reputation as a top of the world grappling athlete. The remaining athletes must qualify via the grueling ADCC Trials process. ADCC holds eight trials events across the globe, where citizens in four separate regions can test themselves against the best submission grapplers in their categories.
The trials regions are:
- North America
- South America
- Europe, Africa & The Middle East
- Asia & Oceania
*The winner of each male division for each trials will immediately qualify for ADCC. The winner in the female divisions in the second trials in each region will qualify for ADCC
Kaynan vs. Who? Super Fight Questions
What's customary in ADCC is that the reigning super fight champion take on whoever wins the absolute at the next event. The issue here is that the champion Gordon Ryan has retired from the sport and that leaves Kaynan Duarte without a clear opponent. There will certainly be a super fight, and Kaynan's participation is locked (unless he for some reason declines) but the organization will now have some leeway to determine what makes for the best match.
The reigning champions:
The following athletes won gold at ADCC 2024, guaranteeing them an invitation to the 2026 World Championships. These athletes' participation status has not yet been confirmed by ADCC:
- 2024 66kg champion: Diogo 'Baby Shark' Reis
- 2024 77kg champion: Mica Galvão
- 2024 88kg champion: Giancarlo Bodoni
- 2024 -99kg champion: Kaynan Duarte
- 2024 +99kg champion: Felipe Pena
- 2024 -55kg champion: Adele Fornarino
- 2024 -65kg champion: Ana Carolina Vieira
- 2024 +65kg champion: Rafaela Guedes
Every athlete invited to ADCC 2024
-66kg
- Nikodem Mikuliszyn (1st European, African, & Asian Trials Winner) | Poland
- Dorian Olivarez (1st North American Trials Winner) | United States of America
- Ryoma Anraku (1st Asia & Oceanic Trials Winner) | Japan
-77kg
- Magomed Dhzarbaev (1st European, African, & Asian Trials Winner) | Russia
- Jacob Bornemann (1st North American Trials Winner) | United States of America
- Izaak Michell (1st Asia & Oceanic Trials Winner) | Australia
-88kg
- Pawel Jaworski (1st European, African, & Asian Trials Winner) | Poland
- Jon Blank (1st North American Trials Winner) | United States of America
- Jozef Chen (1st Asia & Oceanic Trials Winner) | Republic of South Africa
-99kg
- Declan Moody (1st European, African, & Asian Trials Winner) | Australia
- Achilles Rocha (1st North American Trials Winner) | Brazil
- Nico Maglicic (1st Asia & Oceanic Trials Winner) | Australia
+99kg
- Mark MacQueen (1st European, African, & Asian Trials Winner) | Scotland
- Brandon Reed (1st North American Trials Winner) | Canada
- Tito John Carle (1st Asia & Oceanic Trials Winner) | Australia